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Guide FOREVER EL1TE'S Nightwing Guide.





Guide on Nightwing By Forever El1te.
First off this is my first guide ever made. So if this guide isn't as good as others I apologize in advance.
Now lets get started.

Nightwing is a mid-High, High-Low tier character. What I mean is if you think of him mid tier. He would be on the top. If you believe he's top tier. Then he's near the bottom. He has great footsies, Great counter-Zoning tools(Also zoning tools),Plus frames, and super good reach in staff.
He has a top 10Corner Game and a top 10 oki game.
Is Nightwing an easy character to pick up and win? No. He takes time to get better and its not easy playing/winning with him.
Has great mixups in staff but not so much In escrima.
He has two stances. Escrima and Staff. I will break down the two.
So lets start off with escrima.

Escrima is Nightwing's default stance. After a clash you will be in Escrima. When the match start you will be in Escrima.

What are the pros of Escrima? Compared to staff?
•Better mobility than staff.
•More Crossups
•More setups
•Wingdings(Yes Wingdings)
•Better use of interactacbles
•Great Counter Zoning Tools
What are the Cons of this stance?
•Sub-Par mixups.
•Not so good anti pokes
•Sub-Par Air Normals.

Lets go over some of his most important and used move list. I'm excluding moves that are useless.

112-112 is his go to punisher up close in the corner because of damage. S1 it self is 6frames. Which is his fastest normal. 112 Is also plus 21 on block I believe. May be slightly off.
This string is a huge combo filler in the corner doing very good damage.

113-This string is like 112 like how it his is go to punisher.. Except you wanna use this string for midscreen punishes. Its also a very good armor breaking string.
You can use this string to hit confirm something.
It causes a HKD and gives safe jump pretty much anywhere. This is used as a combo ender in the corner.

B2-This is his highlight move. A 15 frame overhead that reaches far, you'll be playing footsies with this move alot. It's also -4 on block so they can't punish. You should use this move as much as you can. Except on Superman,Green latern. I'll explain that later.

F213-This is also an highlight move.
A 10Frame startup. Hits mid, and is his strongest combo starter. It's also neutral on block. Also one of the few blockstrings that grants enough advantage for a stance switch.(Escrima to staff switch).

D1- This poke has its cons and pros.. It's a 9frame startup poke which means you can't use this to poke out of pressure much. However it's plus 3-5 on block. If you hear anything else don't believe it. This d1 frame data is gimmicky. Also if you land this on block just straight follow up with F213. Which becomes a 7 frame startup combo starter.

D12- This string is gimmicky to but I believe it's plus 8 on block? I may be wrong but it gives a huge advantage on block. You can use this string as a hitconfirm into stance switch.

33-This string has the most cancel advantage into stance switch. Basically grants a free switch into staff spin.

F3-This is a huge combo linker. That's pretty much why it's here on the list.

U3-This gives some setups in the corner and midscreen. It's an overhead that's +10 on block. You cannot combo after u3 on hit.

Special moves:
Escrima Fury (DF2)
This is one of his main combo starters. Or linkers. It's a good wake up. However it can be neutral jumped or Crossuped for punish. You shouldn't use this move in neutral game. Only use on the f213 string because you'll be able to hit confirm into it. You can also use it in a combo to keep linking more hits. However the gravity picks up fast after use inside a combo. Mb version only works on hit, it just grants more damage and puts them higher in the air for a b3 midscreen. AND HOLY GOD NEVER USE THIS ON BLOCK IT'S MINUS 24 on block. :)

Flip kick (DB3)-
This is his main Crossup move. It's about -4 on block. I believe it grants a HKD, Mb version grants a combo. Mb version is plus1 to plus 4 on block.

Ground spark (DB2)-A low electric projectile that goes from one side to the other. It hits low, -4 up close, plus on block when far away and when used meaty. Does 8% damage. Can be used in combos as a linker. When it hits opponent causes a stagger. Mb version causes a knockdown. It does 12% on hit and its very plus on block(+11).

Wingdings(Air, DB1)- This is probably one of his best moves all together. It anti airs from a distance, can create a field where they can't hit you, (IA Wingdings really stops armor.) Does hella damage(12% I believe, may be off.) Causes a stagger on hit.
And is very minus(Dont worry about how negative, your in the air and some/most characters can't really punish it) Just know if superman has super leave this move alone.
Mb version adds more damage, and causes a knockdown if the last wingding hits. You can mb Wingdings to make yourself semi safe or to catch someone off guard.

Scatter bombs-This move is useless outside of combos. Mb scatter bombs give great damage in the corner and may give you a meaty setup. You'll only use it when you try to do IA Wingdings and get scatterbomb instead most likely.

BnB's This is Nightwing's BnB in Escrima and staff. Also some tech. (Link below)


Lets go over some frame traps.
112, +21 on block. To get a guaranteed block string do, 112,33SS staff spin. Nothing can get through that.

Since 112 has pushback you would have to dash to continue pressure. However your still plus. So go figure.
D12=112,F213,33 Afterwards. D12 is plus 8.

D1=112,F213 Afterwards. Pretty much everything else will get beat so only use those two strings.
Mb FlipKick=D1,112.

Mb scatter bombs is hella plus, but also has hella pushback. So not many options there except, dash and add more pressure.


Now lets get to staff-
Pros and cons compared to Escrima?
Pros
•Better Reach
•A top 5 D1
•Better mixups
•Better air-air normals.
•Better air normals
•Better chip damage.

Cons?
•Horrible mobility
•Horrible jump height
•No good damage without meter. Without meter none of his lows leads into combos.
•No anti air up close.

His move list(Only the important ones)
S1- 11Frame startup, plus 1 on block.
This should be one of your punish move, footsie move, anti air(From a distance) move. This move has godlike reach.

S2-Overhead,22Frames,-3 on block.
This his one of only overheads that leads to a combo. It does very good damage(Doesent really scale either)
You should only use this move for mixups, combos, and to beat wake ups.


B1-This probably his longest normal.
It can hit people very far. Neutral on block. No cancel special here so no combos here. Unless your in the corner, where you can get a d1 afterwards on hit.
This move can catch backdashes, anti air(From a distance) and cleanly space someone out.

D1- This is his golden move. Plus on block. Start up of 6frames. Special cancelable, and it lowers his hitbox. Use this to set up frame traps.

D2-This move has high cancel advantage so definitely use this In combos. Plus it's a different d2. It doesent really scale.
It's also 8Frames on startup so use this as a punisher to.

1F1-Medium into a Low that's special cancelable. It's also plus on block.

1F2-Medium into Overhead. Which is safe if they block overhead. Not special cancelable. Create a mixup with this and 1F1.

Specials-

Staff Spin- A fast multi hitting special. That destroys armor.
Does about 11% on hit and is semi safe(-6). A HKD(Opponent can't tech roll)
Mb version(Plus 18 on block.) Adds one hit that sends them flying. Can be used in combos to link a d1,d2 afterwards. Use this on block alot.

Staff pound-A 21 frame low. Plus 9 on block. Doesent combo without meter. 5%Damage
Mb version-plus 18, grants you a combo on hit. 6%Damage.

Flying Grayson-13%Damage, -3,-4 on block. Unless you hit it at Max distance, at max distance it's neutral. If used meaty its plus1. Use this as an far away anti air in combos. Don't Abuse this move at all. It's a high and can be ducked for a full combo punish.


BnB's for staff.


That's all of his BnB's.

I will go into oki,setups, and the mu chart soon.

@DarthArma


Nightwing has one of the best oki out there. In escrima or staff.

Flipkick is a input reversal and beats out wu's.
Wingding is a 3-4hitting projectile that can beat wakeups.

Staff spin destroys armor again. Flying grayson will catch all wakeups that have no invisibility or flies away.
Staff pound is the killer here. Two pounds to destroy wakeups.
This shows ways to beat everyone's wake up except dlc. You can also check out @AK L0rdoftheFLY videos too.

Nightwing Anti Wakeup Part 1: Nightwing Anti Wakeup Part 1:

Now I will get into his mu's if you have any questions or tips please list.


Aquaman-5-5,6-4
This matchup should be played in staff 60% of the time.
In staff your normals just about go as far as his normals go. You can destroy his wakeups with staff pound or standing 1. You should be trying to zone him out with staff pound. Staff pound his butt to death. However in the zoning game be patient, because his ftd is faster than your staff pound. Block the ftd and spam staff pound.

Ares-6-4,
This matchup can be played in escrima or staff. I prefer escrima 60% of the time. Once he gets closer switch to staff. You can efficiently zone out Ares while baiting teleport. Up close dont try to beat his wakeups instead bait em.

Bane-5-5,6-4.
In this matchup I stay in escrima 80% of the time. If your in staff the mu becomes 4-6.
In escrima learn how to IAWD(Instant air wingdings)
They can beat everything he does. Far screen spam ground spark. You'll recover fast enough to block raging bull. Try not to use meter on anything and save it up for defense or Debuff combos.
Abuse 113 in this mu and stay very mobile.

Batman-5-5
This match depends heavily on life lead. Nightwing can outzone batman and batman can outzone Nightwing. If you have health lead start up zoning. I prefer escrima in this mu because of mobility. However staff is 5-5 so choose a stance.


Black Adam-4-6,5-5
This matchup is only bad or possibly bad is because of his ability to run away and zone. Each stance is playable in this match. In escrima abuse j3 and wingdings to keep him grounded. Your #1 rule is to keep him grounded. In staff abuse flying grayson and j2,j1 alot.

Dont try any setups. As his lightening cage beats just about everything. In escrima bait it or wingdings. In staff always staff pound.

Catwoman-5-5
This mu is so complicated but I'll try to simplify it for you. If she knocks you down she may win. If he knocks her down. He may win.
Zone her and dont let her jump in on you. In escrima j3 her and in staff flying grayson/j2 her. Her jump is floaty so react to it.
Also in staff you lose pressure, because her Hitbox is so small. Instead d1 Staff spin her or just revolve around staff pound/mb staff pound pressure.

@Cyborg-3-7
Its 3-7 ,because cyborg zones you out with IANB.
I dont have much knowledge on this mu but stay in escrima. If he cant get down IANB then it becomes; 4-6.

Deathstroke-4-6,5-5
He can outzone you while were in escrima or staff. Both players have to mixup zoning except deathstroke just has the upper hand with air gunshots.
When your in choose your stance. Escrima and staff have about equal advantage on oki in this match.

Doomsday,5-5
Try to zone him out. If he jumps alot air to air him. If he's dashing dash punish him. Punish his shoulder charge accordingly(The regular version.)
This mu is only bad for Nightwing if he is knocked down. Luckily for us his wakeup reversal isnt safe because you dont have to wakeup with a special. Just apply pressure.

Flash,5-5

Try to zone him. Just be careful upclose because he can uppercut reversal our ground spark for a punish if we try to ground spark again of course. Bait all his wakeups. I prefer escrima in this mu.

Green Arrow,6-4,7-3
Nightwing outzones green arrow real good. In staff or escrima. In staff you out reach him real bad. Keep zoning him and keep him away.

Green lantern,4-6
Lantern can outzone us while were in escrima or staff, his back 1 also beats out majority of our options. The goal here is to knock him down and get into escrima, because flipkick beats all of his wakeups.
To get pass zoning just ground spark ground missiles and avoid air missiles. Try to figure out his zoning pattern and stance switch flying grayson him.

Harley Quinn,5-5,4-6.

You can outzone Harley Quinn to a degree. Stay in escrima 80-90% of the time in this mu. You can counter zone her with ground spark. The only problem is air gunshot. Which we can punish with flying grayson. If your in staff switch to escrima immediately.

Hawkgirl, 4-6,3-7.
This mu is bad, because hawkgirl is always on the air. And Nightwing is an grounded fighter. Stay in escrima 90% of the time. Ground spark her to get her to come to you. Then j3 her out the air. Or you can SS cancel into flying grayson to either hit Her or fly under her. Which you will then get her out the air with j2. On knockdown wingdings beats everything. Staff spin also beats everything.

Joker,6-4
Nightwing zones him out in both stances but in escrima better. Thats pretty much all to the mu. Just zone/lame it out. In escrima if you knock him down just neutral jump 3ball of his wakeups. It beats everything.

Killer frost,4-6
She can zone you out and parry just about everything you do. Be careful with all of your frame traps. To make this mu better stay in escrima and jump alot. She cant control the air. J3, J Wingdings can really do a number on her. Be careful though. She can slide under wingdings or punish wingdings on block with slide.

Lex Luther,5-5,6-4
You zone him. You keep him out and let his bigself come to you. If he has out trait wingdings, flying grayson, staff spin, all beat his trait.
If he sets up zoning stay mobile and cause a knockdown to regain zoning control (Mb wingdings, mb ground spark)
This mu can be played in either stance but I prefer escrima.

Nightwing, 6-4
Idk if the 6-4 thing makes sense but escrima beats staff. Because you have better mobility with wingdings. So stay in escrima and wingding yourself.

Raven, 4-6,5-5
She can outzone you. If your very far away ground spark her or staff pound her. If she gets midscreen stop zoning all together and get in on her. Nightwing destroys all of her wakeups. So if you knock her down, stuff her wu's.


Sinestro,(This mu is so complicated and controversial, it's either 4-6,or 6-4)
Im saying this because other Nightwing players struggle to win in this mu. However i played some pro sinestro players, where the score would be even or im winning by 2 or he's winning by 2.

In staff, staff pound him to death. In escrima thow out ground sparks here n there with a mix of wingdings.

Upclose you got sinestro, because he's negative on everything and were plus on everything. I do 50% staff, %escrima in this mu.

Shazam,6-4,7-3
In staff just staff pound him and abuse s1. It beats just about 98% of his options. Just get in staff and lame it out. In escrima the mu is 6-4 or 5-5. So just get in staff.

Superman, 4-6.
His air lasers are really the only reason its 4-6. Stay in staff 90% of the time. Abuse b1, and jb2. They can out reach all of his normals.
Zoning wise just be patient and slowly get in while punishing anything with staff pound. Patience is key in this mu.

Solomon Grundy,6-4,7-3
This mu is bad because Nightwing has multiple multi hitting moves. Escrima-113,112,MB Flipkick. Staff-Staff spin.
Not to mention grab immune which can destroy Grundy.
Zone him and rarely use meter for zoning. Build up meter for defense.. Also dont use wingdings as much. He may eat the wingdings and block him super upclose for a combo punish.

Wonder Woman,5-5,4-6

This mu is fun to play. You can play it in escrima or staff. You can outzone her but not much.


Her ia dash thing beats out zoning tools so be careful with zoning. On knockdown we can destroy her wakeup and she can destroy ours.

Lobo,5-5,6-4
You can outzone Lobo and his wakeups are simple. Very good on hit, very bad on block. Dash punish him and air to air him at any cost. He outdamages us a little so build meter for setups or extra combo damage. Also his nuke shells make trade with any of nw projectiles up close to about midscreen distance. If he loads a nuke shell be careful on zoning.

Mmh,5-5
Play this mu 70-80% Staff. You can zone him with staff pound. Except his teleport beats staff pound if we whiff so be careful. After every teleport s1 is a guaranteed block string, flying grayson catches back dashes, and staff spin beats mb b3.

Zatanna, 5-5,4-6
She can zone/annoy with rings. However we can annoy her with staff pound and punish her teleports. Play this mu like the ares mu except be in staff alot more.

Bg,5-5
In escrima we can zone her somewhat. But only do it to bait teleport. In staff you severely out footsie her, which means she has to run back and zone you because her bola is basically a frame Infinite on block. If you trade with her once she has the better advantage because of teleport into a combo. In this matchup play both stances evenly or escrima more.

Zod,4-6, Your both gonna be laming it out except he has trait. So you want health advantage and ground spark in to death. Stay in escrima this mu 95% of the time. Zone him a little bit. Then rush him down.
On any power stage map its 3-7.

Well this ends my guide. I hope this helps other nw players and any person picking him up.
@AK RM Blake front page?
 
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AK L0rdoftheFLY

I hatelove this game
I like the info and the layout. Simple and concise. Your videos are a little hard to watch imo...the music, the intro, and the length for me are killers.

In staff 1f1 can be linked into a meterless bnb by doing 1f1 cs ef f3 j2 f213 cs ss

Going into 112 or 113 after a d1 is dangerous in escrima cause it is a high. You kind of forfeit your frame advantage by doing that as in their d1 will hit you out of it.

Also your d1 frame data...lols
 
I like the info and the layout. Simple and concise. Your videos are a little hard to watch imo...the music, the intro, and the length for me are killers.

In staff 1f1 can be linked into a meterless bnb by doing 1f1 cs ef f3 j2 f213 cs ss

Going into 112 or 113 after a d1 is dangerous in escrima cause it is a high. You kind of forfeit your frame advantage by doing that as in their d1 will hit you out of it.

Also your d1 frame data...lols
Lol thanks for input I'll put that in there. Why is the d1 part so funny I cant see how it is.
 

Braindead

I want Kronika to step on my face
Lol thanks for input I'll put that in there. Why is the d1 part so funny I cant see how it is.
I literally just went into practice mode, NW vs Lex, reversal set to Corp Charge. Did a d1 then F2, and it beat him out of his Corp Charge.

Is that proof enough?
 

AssassiN

Noob
Why is 112 your go-to-punish? Why not 113?
Why do you think 113 is "pretty useless" midscreen?

1F1 and 1F2 are not mix-ups, they can be fuzzy blocked.
 
Why is 112 your go-to-punish? Why not 113?
Why do you think 113 is "pretty useless" midscreen?

1F1 and 1F2 are not mix-ups, they can be fuzzy blocked.
I meant that the 11 in 112 or 113 was my go to punisher.

113 is pretty useless midscreen because you dont really get any thing from it. Other than the bgb vortex braindead found. I have yet to use the setup to make all wu's whiff midscreen but on a good read I can be punished for it by a d2 or something.. Idk much on the setup.
While 1F1 and 1F2 can be fuzzy guarded. Its still a mixup between low-overhead. You cant react to the low or overhead either.
 

AssassiN

Noob
I meant that the 11 in 112 or 113 was my go to punisher.

113 is pretty useless midscreen because you dont really get any thing from it. Other than the bgb vortex braindead found. I have yet to use the setup to make all wu's whiff midscreen but on a good read I can be punished for it by a d2 or something.. Idk much on the setup.
While 1F1 and 1F2 can be fuzzy guarded. Its still a mixup between low-overhead. You cant react to the low or overhead either.
It's a 6-frame safe launcher that you can confirm of and it blows up armor. You can get around 42% with a BGB by starting with 113.
 
It's a 6-frame safe launcher that you can confirm of and it blows up armor. You can get around 42% with a BGB by starting with 113.
The 3 in 113 may whiff. Letting the opponent whiff punish. Which is why i use it sparingly. However keep telling me more so I can add it to the guide.
 

HeroesNZ

Baconlord's Billionaire Sugar Daddy
Good start, but there's A TON of stuff to point out though, get ready
  • "Nightwing is a mid-high/high-low tier character" <-Doesn't make sense
  • "112-112 is his go to punisher up close" <- 113 is his 6f punishing string in Escrima
  • "This full string is pretty useless midscreen" It's an easy hit-confirm, breaks armour and does good damage
  • "This d1 frame data is gimmicky" I don't understand what you mean by "Gimmicky". Escrima D1 is +5
  • "Only use on the f213 string because you'll be able to hit confirm into it" Can also hit-confirm with 1F1 and 113
  • "Mb version is plus1 to plus 4 on block. (Gimmicky frame data.)" Again, I don't understand what you mean. MB Flipkick is +1
  • "It hits low, -4 up close, plus on block when far away" Also plus when meaty
  • "Scatter bombs-This move is useless" You can catch people off guard with B2 SB for more plus frames. You should also mention that you can get big damage in the corner using MB SB
  • "MB FlipKick=D1,112" If someone's letting you D1 after MB Flipkick it must either be a mirror match or they're showing you too much respect
  • "No good damage without meter. Without meter none of his lows leads into combos" S2 gets good damage. Again, you should also mention 1F1 ~ Escrima Fury.
  • "No anti air up close" Let's not ignore the fact that D2 can anti-air, even if it's not exactly Aquaman's.
  • "You should only use this move for mixups, combos, and to beat wake ups" You can also use it to hit someone trying to jump out of the corner
  • You should mention that D3 is also a good tool in the neutral.
  • "D1- I think we all know about this move so let's move on" It's a guide, you need to talk about one of his most important normals.
  • "D2-This move has high cancel advantage so definitely use this In combos" You can also use it to guarantee a Staff Spin on block. D2 is 8f, D1 is +3 so they can't poke out.
  • "Does about 11% on hit and is semi safe(-6)" It's only unsafe on MMH - and even then I'm not sure if his F1 whiffs or not. I'm pretty sure Zatanna's S1 whiffs.
  • "Unless you hit it at Max distance, at max distance it's neutral" It's +1 when meaty
 
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Good start, but there's A TON of stuff to point out though, get ready
  • "Nightwing is a mid-high/high-low tier character" <-Doesn't make sense
  • "112-112 is his go to punisher up close" <- 113 is his 6f punishing string in Escrima
  • "This full string is pretty useless midscreen" It's an easy hit-confirm, breaks armour and does good damage
  • "This d1 frame data is gimmicky" I don't understand what you mean by "Gimmicky". Escrima D1 is +5
  • "Only use on the f213 string because you'll be able to hit confirm into it" Can also hit-confirm with 1F1 and 113
  • "Mb version is plus1 to plus 4 on block. (Gimmicky frame data.)" Again, I don't understand what you mean. MB Flipkick is +1
  • "It hits low, -4 up close, plus on block when far away" Also plus when meaty
  • "Scatter bombs-This move is useless" You can catch people off guard with B2 SB for more plus frames. You should also mention that you can get big damage in the corner using MB SB
  • "MB FlipKick=D1,112" If someone's letting you D1 after MB Flipkick it must either be a mirror match or they're showing you too much respect
  • "No good damage without meter. Without meter none of his lows leads into combos" S2 gets good damage. Again, you should also mention 1F1 ~ Escrima Fury.
  • "No anti air up close" Let's not ignore the fact that D2 can anti-air, even if it's not exactly Aquaman's.
  • "You should only use this move for mixups, combos, and to beat wake ups" You can also use it to hit someone trying to jump out of the corner
  • You should mention that D3 is also a good tool in the neutral.
  • "D1- I think we all know about this move so let's move on" It's a guide, you need to talk about one of his most improtant normals.
  • "D2-This move has high cancel advantage so definitely use this In combos" You can also use it to guarantee a Staff Spin on block. D2 is 8f, D1 is +3 so they can't poke out.
  • "Does about 11% on hit and is semi safe(-6)" It's only unsafe on MMH - and even then I'm not sure if his F1 whiffs or not. I'm pretty sure Zatanna's S1 whiffs.
  • "Unless you hit it at Max distance, at max distance it's neutral" It's +1 when meaty
Thanks for these. I'll try to patch everything up so its complete and Clean.